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Lot Essay
This golden bureau-cabinet, designed in the George I 'antique' manner, is crowned by an ogival and triumphal-arched temple pediment. Its mirrored bookcase-facade combines French elegance with the grandeur of Roman architecture, such as the Rome-trained James Gibbs promoted in his, Book of Architecture, 1728.
THE ORNAMENT
The ornament evokes the poets' paradise or Arcadian Golden Age, with its mosaiced compartments in bas-relief, comprised of festive flower-issuing Roman acanthus entwined by fretted ribbons.
The patterns derive from the 'Roman' fashion promoted in Louis XIVs reign by the Oeuvres of Jean Bérain (d. 1711), and later popularised in England by Daniel Marot (d. 1752), whose engraved Oeuvres as 'Architect' to William III were reissued in 1712. Its festive bands are applied to an 'antique' stippled ground, and recall the ancient Feasts of Bacchus and Venus. This element would have been enhanced by its Roman 'sarcophagus' Bacchic lion-feet; while its bookcase displays a Venus-shell cartouche (the companion cabinet with the latter features, which are lacking on this cabinet, was sold anonymously, Sotheby's London, 3 June 1977, lot 118).
THE MASTER OF THE ROYAL PORTUGUESE CABINETS
A pair of similar secretaire-cabinets was ordered by John V, King of Portugal (d. 1750) and probably executed in the mid-1720s. Their interiors were richly veneered with yew, a distinct and unusual feature. At this period the King had commissioned a magnificent silver cistern from the Huguenot goldsmith Paul Crespin (d. 1770), who put it on display for George I in 1724. Indeed such golden cabinets harmonised perfectly with the gold-galooned and richly laced wall-hangings then being manufactured for the King in Paris (R. W. Symonds, 'A Royal Scrutoire', Connoisseur, June 1940, pp. 233-236; and R. W. Symonds, 'The Origin of Gesso Furniture', Antiques Review, December 1950, fig 5).
PETER MILLER AND THE STRAND CABINET-MAKING INDUSTRY
In the 1720s a drawing of a bureau-cabinet, likewise featuring a rustic ogival-scrolled pediment, was included amongst designs made by Russian craftsmen, who had been sent to London for training by Czar Peter the Great (N. I. Guseva, 'Fedor Martynov, Russian Master Cabinet Maker', Furniture History, 1994, p. 95, no. 3). It has been suggested that their training may have taken place with the Strand cabinet-maker Peter Miller, who, in 1724, is recorded as executing a walnut bureau-cabinet of this form for export to Spain (Adam Bowett, Geffrye Museum Symposium, January 2002). The present bookcase's interior, veneered in golden and marble-figured yew, is equipped with pigeon-holes and drawer nests around a 'tabernacle' compartment; while its desk is similarly fitted, but lacks pigeon-holes. Similar interior fittings appear in a bureau-cabinet made by Miller in 1724, and incorporating a mirrored tympanum that is appropriately embellished with a poetic 'Apollo' sun burst (see C. Gilbert, The Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, Leeds, 1996, figs. 646 & 647).
THE 'APOLLO' LOCK
Apollo is also recalled on the present bureau, since its handsome lock-plate tablet is beautifully engraved with the poets' triumphal laurels wreathing a winged genius, who emerges from Roman acanthus and trumpets the fame of Calliope, Muse of epic poetry and companion of Apollo. Patterns for such foliage derive from Jean Le Pautre's Rinceaux de different feuillages. First issued in Paris circa 1660, it was revived in London in the 1720s, when Thomas Bowles issued A New Book of Ornaments Proper for Gravers, Jewellers, carvers and most sorts of Artificers (N. Snodin, 'Thomas Bowles', Furniture History, 1994, pp. 86-91). A similar conch-blowing triton appears on the lock-plate of the cabinet made for the Beevor family in the 1720s, and which has also been related to Miller's work. The cabinet was sold by Sir Thomas Beevor, Bt., in these Rooms, 14 June 2001, lot 150.
JAMES MOORE AND JOHN GUMLEY
The ornament corresponds to some masterpieces of early Georgian furniture, that have long been attributed to George I's court cabinet-maker James Moore (d. 1727). This includes the 'Bateman' lion-footed sarcophagus chest from Shobden Court, Herefordshire (Victoria & Albert Museum); and the Montagu chest at Boughton House, Northamptonshire (I. Caldwell, 'James Moore and the Bateman Chest', Antique Collector, February 1988, p. 74-79, figs. 1 and 3), as well as the pair to the present cabinet. Moore worked in partnership with John Gumley, whose Strand warehouse was celebrated for both its glass manufactures and its gesso-decorated furnishings. The firm also carried on a flourishing export trade and when advertising in 1714, Gumley drew the attention of 'the Quality, Gentry and Merchants for Exportation' to the large looking-glasses that had been executed in the 'Newest Fashions'.
The closeness of Moore and Gumley to Peter Miller's establishment enhanced the Strand as the centre of London's cabinet-making business before its move to St Martin's Lane.
GILES GRENDEY AND THE EAST INDIA TRADE
It is of particular interest that the present cabinet appears to have been commissioned as one of pair, since the exotic lacquer cabinets imported by the East India Companies were usually made in pairs. Likewise a pair of bureau-cabinets, japanned in imitation of lacquer, was included in furnishings commissioned by the Duke of Infantado for his Castle at Lazcano, Northern Spain. These were executed by Giles Grendey (d.1780) of Clerkenwell, who was renowned as a 'Great Dealer in the Cabinet Way'. Interestingly, the interior of the upper section of this cabinet appears to originally have been red japanned, in the manner of fashionable cabinets, in particular, those for the export market.
THE CONSTRUCTION
Similar interior fittings exist on a bureau-cabinet made by Peter Miller in 1724 - each featuring unusual yew-veneered interiors (Gilbert, loc. cit.). Furthermore, a walnut bureau-cabinet, with similar interior fittings and constructional features to the present cabinet, was sold by Sir Thomas Beevor, Bt, in these Rooms, 14 June 2001, lot 150. The latter was possibly by the same maker as the present cabinet on the basis that both share similar unusual, or at least possibly non-English drawer construction: the walnut drawer bottom is held in place by a 4-sided rebate, as opposed to the more usual English 3-sided rebate.
CONCLUDING NOTE
This exceptionally rare bureau-cabinet, one of only three known examples of its kind, represents the summit of 1720s London furniture-making combining the skills of the cabinet-maker with that of the carver and gilder.
THE ORNAMENT
The ornament evokes the poets' paradise or Arcadian Golden Age, with its mosaiced compartments in bas-relief, comprised of festive flower-issuing Roman acanthus entwined by fretted ribbons.
The patterns derive from the 'Roman' fashion promoted in Louis XIVs reign by the Oeuvres of Jean Bérain (d. 1711), and later popularised in England by Daniel Marot (d. 1752), whose engraved Oeuvres as 'Architect' to William III were reissued in 1712. Its festive bands are applied to an 'antique' stippled ground, and recall the ancient Feasts of Bacchus and Venus. This element would have been enhanced by its Roman 'sarcophagus' Bacchic lion-feet; while its bookcase displays a Venus-shell cartouche (the companion cabinet with the latter features, which are lacking on this cabinet, was sold anonymously, Sotheby's London, 3 June 1977, lot 118).
THE MASTER OF THE ROYAL PORTUGUESE CABINETS
A pair of similar secretaire-cabinets was ordered by John V, King of Portugal (d. 1750) and probably executed in the mid-1720s. Their interiors were richly veneered with yew, a distinct and unusual feature. At this period the King had commissioned a magnificent silver cistern from the Huguenot goldsmith Paul Crespin (d. 1770), who put it on display for George I in 1724. Indeed such golden cabinets harmonised perfectly with the gold-galooned and richly laced wall-hangings then being manufactured for the King in Paris (R. W. Symonds, 'A Royal Scrutoire', Connoisseur, June 1940, pp. 233-236; and R. W. Symonds, 'The Origin of Gesso Furniture', Antiques Review, December 1950, fig 5).
PETER MILLER AND THE STRAND CABINET-MAKING INDUSTRY
In the 1720s a drawing of a bureau-cabinet, likewise featuring a rustic ogival-scrolled pediment, was included amongst designs made by Russian craftsmen, who had been sent to London for training by Czar Peter the Great (N. I. Guseva, 'Fedor Martynov, Russian Master Cabinet Maker', Furniture History, 1994, p. 95, no. 3). It has been suggested that their training may have taken place with the Strand cabinet-maker Peter Miller, who, in 1724, is recorded as executing a walnut bureau-cabinet of this form for export to Spain (Adam Bowett, Geffrye Museum Symposium, January 2002). The present bookcase's interior, veneered in golden and marble-figured yew, is equipped with pigeon-holes and drawer nests around a 'tabernacle' compartment; while its desk is similarly fitted, but lacks pigeon-holes. Similar interior fittings appear in a bureau-cabinet made by Miller in 1724, and incorporating a mirrored tympanum that is appropriately embellished with a poetic 'Apollo' sun burst (see C. Gilbert, The Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840, Leeds, 1996, figs. 646 & 647).
THE 'APOLLO' LOCK
Apollo is also recalled on the present bureau, since its handsome lock-plate tablet is beautifully engraved with the poets' triumphal laurels wreathing a winged genius, who emerges from Roman acanthus and trumpets the fame of Calliope, Muse of epic poetry and companion of Apollo. Patterns for such foliage derive from Jean Le Pautre's Rinceaux de different feuillages. First issued in Paris circa 1660, it was revived in London in the 1720s, when Thomas Bowles issued A New Book of Ornaments Proper for Gravers, Jewellers, carvers and most sorts of Artificers (N. Snodin, 'Thomas Bowles', Furniture History, 1994, pp. 86-91). A similar conch-blowing triton appears on the lock-plate of the cabinet made for the Beevor family in the 1720s, and which has also been related to Miller's work. The cabinet was sold by Sir Thomas Beevor, Bt., in these Rooms, 14 June 2001, lot 150.
JAMES MOORE AND JOHN GUMLEY
The ornament corresponds to some masterpieces of early Georgian furniture, that have long been attributed to George I's court cabinet-maker James Moore (d. 1727). This includes the 'Bateman' lion-footed sarcophagus chest from Shobden Court, Herefordshire (Victoria & Albert Museum); and the Montagu chest at Boughton House, Northamptonshire (I. Caldwell, 'James Moore and the Bateman Chest', Antique Collector, February 1988, p. 74-79, figs. 1 and 3), as well as the pair to the present cabinet. Moore worked in partnership with John Gumley, whose Strand warehouse was celebrated for both its glass manufactures and its gesso-decorated furnishings. The firm also carried on a flourishing export trade and when advertising in 1714, Gumley drew the attention of 'the Quality, Gentry and Merchants for Exportation' to the large looking-glasses that had been executed in the 'Newest Fashions'.
The closeness of Moore and Gumley to Peter Miller's establishment enhanced the Strand as the centre of London's cabinet-making business before its move to St Martin's Lane.
GILES GRENDEY AND THE EAST INDIA TRADE
It is of particular interest that the present cabinet appears to have been commissioned as one of pair, since the exotic lacquer cabinets imported by the East India Companies were usually made in pairs. Likewise a pair of bureau-cabinets, japanned in imitation of lacquer, was included in furnishings commissioned by the Duke of Infantado for his Castle at Lazcano, Northern Spain. These were executed by Giles Grendey (d.1780) of Clerkenwell, who was renowned as a 'Great Dealer in the Cabinet Way'. Interestingly, the interior of the upper section of this cabinet appears to originally have been red japanned, in the manner of fashionable cabinets, in particular, those for the export market.
THE CONSTRUCTION
Similar interior fittings exist on a bureau-cabinet made by Peter Miller in 1724 - each featuring unusual yew-veneered interiors (Gilbert, loc. cit.). Furthermore, a walnut bureau-cabinet, with similar interior fittings and constructional features to the present cabinet, was sold by Sir Thomas Beevor, Bt, in these Rooms, 14 June 2001, lot 150. The latter was possibly by the same maker as the present cabinet on the basis that both share similar unusual, or at least possibly non-English drawer construction: the walnut drawer bottom is held in place by a 4-sided rebate, as opposed to the more usual English 3-sided rebate.
CONCLUDING NOTE
This exceptionally rare bureau-cabinet, one of only three known examples of its kind, represents the summit of 1720s London furniture-making combining the skills of the cabinet-maker with that of the carver and gilder.